What is Citizen Development?

According to Gartner, a citizen developer is “an employee who creates application capabilities for consumption by themselves or others, using tools that are not actively forbidden by IT or business units”. They also add, “By 2023, the number of active citizen developers at large enterprises will be at least four times the number of professional developers”.

This is a relatively new scenario as traditionally business applications will have been created by IT teams or professional developers utilising complex programming languages. The emergence of Low-Code technology has seen organisations open application development to those employees who need new applications. The benefit of this is that these business users (citizen developers) are the subject matter experts in the data and processes that are used within their areas. This leads to faster development times and reduces the backlog for IT teams.

The need for Citizen Development

Traditional software development relies heavily on the availability of professional developers who hand-code applications. Digital transformation initiatives have seen the need for more and more applications that provide insight, analysis and automation, which is causing a backlog for over-stretched IT teams. According to a Forrester report, the United States alone will have a deficit of over 500,000 developers by 2024. 

That’s where Citizen development comes in. It bridges the IT talent gap and enables non-technical business users to create the applications they need. The rise of Low-Code platforms like PhixFlow have seen businesses expand application development to their subject matter experts, all within the confines of a governed infrastructure.

Types of Citizen Developer

Whilst Citizen Developer is not a job title, it describes an employee who sits outside of IT and report to another business unit. They are often the end-users of the application, or maybe a subject matter expert who understands the business processes and data involved.

Low-Code platforms are releasing application development from the confines of traditional development and enabling almost anyone to create business applications that add value for the organisation. This means that there are several types of developer available for organisations to utilise. These can be categorised as the following: Citizen Developer (non-technical), Citizen Developer (technical), Business Unit Pro Developer and Enterprise IT Pro Developer. Non-technical citizen developers are usually end users of the applications and will mostly be looking to create solutions that are specific to their needs. Technical citizen developers will be more data and process driven and often have a background in using technology to solve business problems.

Each developer type is suited to different application types and tools, ranging from No-Code, Low-Code and Pro developer. PhixFlow’s Low-Code platform, of the same name, spans across all four developer types. It gives End User Citizen Developers the simplicity of No-Code with the ability to extend and add value to applications using Low-Code.

The benefits of Citizen Development

Citizen Development is gaining momentum in its adoption around the globe. Organisations that have a well-structured citizen development program are seeing efficiency gains and greater employee satisfaction. Crucially, they are also seeing productivity gains for IT teams as they can focus on core activities.

Faster build and deployment of business applications

Low-Code platforms enable users to build business applications faster than traditional software development. This increases business agility, allowing businesses to adapt to the demands of the market much faster.

Better Business applications

Opening development to the people who understand the data and business processes will result in apps that actually address the problems. As these people tend to also use the apps created their user experience will be enriched too, potentially giving greater customer experience.

Productivity and innovation gains

Allowing business users to innovate through the creation of applications that improve their day-to-day routines creates a significant increase in productivity. Automation of manual tasks gives them the time to focus on the tasks that matter.

Low-Code citizen development with PhixFlow

Working with PhixFlow, will enable you to cover the best of both worlds. Non-technical citizen developers and business subject matter experts will be able to create the applications they need to automate processes with the confines of a governed environment using No-Code. The creation of complex applications, which span multiple departments and systems, are developed by technical citizen developers alongside the business users.

Our customer success teams are also on hand to ensure that your experience with PhixFlow is seamless. By combining your users ideas and our experience, your organisation will soon be taking advantage of the benefits of Low-Code application development.